Karnataka Doctor, Nurse Suspended After Patients Allegedly Made to Manually Clean Overflowing Cesspit

Karnataka: On September 1, a doctor and a senior nurse working at Savanur Taluk hospital in Haveri, were suspended for allegedly forcing two patients to clean an overflowing cesspit manually. The suspension was ordered pending a departmental inquiry.

The two patients visited Savanur Taluk Hospital to seek treatment, where they approached a senior nurse named Vanitha. Vanitha told them to inspect the overflowing sewage, identify the cause and then clean it. She offered them better treatment and medicines in exchange for cleaning the cesspit.

According to reports, the patients agreed to check the sewage, so they opened the pit and manually started to clean the blocked overflowing cesspit. The patients used buckets that were provided by the hospital to clear the sewage.

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On August 28, local residents who lived in the periphery of the Savanur Taluk Hospital found the two patients cleaning the sewage. They took videos and photos of the incident and shared them over social media. The videos gained significant attention online.

The residents questioned the hospital staff about the incident. Dr. Shankar Y Hiregowdar later told the patients to stop cleaning the sewage and send a municipality vehicle instead to clean the sewage.

On August 30, a complaint was lodged against Dr. Hiregowdar and senior nurse Vanitha. They were booked under sections of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, and suspended from duty.

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Health officer Dr. Nagraj was also asked to submit a report about the incident to the district administration. 

According to The Indian Express, the police said, “The pit started overflowing a couple of days ago, and Dr. Hiregowdar had written a letter to municipal authorities on August 27. But when they did not receive any response, they employed the patients in manual scavenging.”  The letter was reportedly written after the pit began overflowing, before the patients were allegedly made to clean it. 

A case has been registered at Savanur Police Station under Section 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the law prohibiting manual removal of human excreta. 

(Rh/ARC/MSM)